Diary of an Epileptic

[Rae1889]

Yeah. i know. but im worried about the scarier common side effects.... trial and error sucks

[Rae1889]

On monday its a long weekend for us manitobans. Its called Louis Riel Day. *he's actually considered a traitor by some people* So i get to sleep in a bit. Cant believe that its friday already. I got a modeling shoot tonight. Some night shots in there. I'll try to put up some pictures when they are all done. Should be fun. its kind of a punk rock, and classy dress shoot. so black nails and funky makeup. im excited

I drank a coke today. probably shouldnt have. tummy still cant handle the caffiene and bubbles since being sick.

im getting tired of the gluten free diet. its hard to avoid the things that I loved. Especially when my friends go out for food. if its not sushi, i never know what to order. I dont know which things will have gluten in them. there is only one expensive italian restaurant in my city that will change a dish into gluten free. and its only because the owner is gluten intolerant.

I just want to eat a big bowl of mediteranian pasta, with regular spaghetti, not gluten free. wah!

[occb]

Yeah... that's why we haven't gone GARD diet yet. It would mean a whole bunch of fresh or cooked from scratch food that I'm just not ready to deal with yet.

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? I hear it's an easy and tastey replacement for wheat spaghetti http://www.fabulousfoods.com/index.p...&article=19943

[Nakamova]

Yeah, I second that -- spaghetti squash is great, and you can serve it with a bit of garlic and butter, just like you would with pasta....

[Inaara]

im getting tired of the gluten free diet. its hard to avoid the things that I loved. Especially when my friends go out for food. if its not sushi, i never know what to order. I dont know which things will have gluten in them. there is only one expensive italian restaurant in my city that will change a dish into gluten free. and its only because the owner is gluten intolerant.

I just want to eat a big bowl of mediteranian pasta, with regular spaghetti, not gluten free. wah!

Rae, I don't know if they have this in Canada, but here in Texas, one of the local grocery chains and a local health food type store carries gluten free foods, including pastas. Being a pasta lover myself with strong google-fu, I have learned to make yummy gluten-free pasta dishes that taste fairly identical to "real" pasta dishes...but then I like to cook. It relaxes me.

[Rae1889]

Yeah they have gluten free pasta, I just dont find it as good as the stuff with gluten. I use to be a big pasta eater. But now that I can't I feel like my food part is missing. I loved to cook and make some really awesome meals, but trying relearn how to do things without gluten is hard

I can make some great soups and stirfrys now. as well as a few deserts and some classic things that I liked *cabbage rolls and perogies* but there is only so much rice I can eat. I miss my subway too.

So I have so far made it through sunday. which is great. Its strange because its a long weekend for me, and I woke up this morning grouchy and moppy thinking I had to work tomorrow.

Chad's brother Scott just got his cast off. If you havent read my other thread you can find it here. Scott's Accident. He's a little ticked that its off so soon. He was told it wouldnt be for a while, but the doctor decided that the staples could be removed and the stiches were healing fine. So they decided to let himself start to move it to keep it from healing into one piece. t hurts alot he says and its constantly getting bumped or used too quickly. he is left handed so he still goes to do things with his hand like normal without thinking. I feel so bad for him.

I slept away my saturday. I was modeling until really late. went to bed at about 2ish, then kept waking up thinking that I left 2 of my friends in the living room that dont drive, so they had no way to get home. I also kept thinking that they were sharing the bed with us so that they oculd at least sleep. I hate crazy "half awake" dreams

I had another dream last night that my friend got into a car accident (he already has, his car got written off a week ago. some lady cut him off, her back bumper hit his front bumper and sent him careening towards a fence. She didnt even stop to check on him. Luckily he was perfectly okay.) But anyway, he got into this accident because he took his backlane to park, and someone had thrown a big box in the middle for some reason. he hit it, then his garage. he got out to check what it was and it turns out that it was a box full of about $100,000,000 worth of crisp clean bills. He kept it, and checked to see if they were counterfet. they werent so he bought us all cars and stuff.

[Nakamova]

Crazy dreams! Must be the new moon. And the year of the tiger starting up...

[Rae1889]

Okay, so its eleven thirty, and I feel like I have a sunburn all over my neck, face, ears, shoulders and arms and tummy. It is a little splotchy and red, but burns worse than a prairie fire.

I'm going to watch this and see if in the morning if its worse. If it is, I am going to the hospital. I'll be ticked if the is SJS! That's just what I need on a med that is basically working. Crud muffins...

[Nakamova]

Oh that would suck. Keep us posted, let us know what happens.

[Nakamova]

Here's the description of SJS. Fingers (and toes) crossed in the hopes that you don't have it.

The early symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pains, generalized fatigue, and itching or burning sensations in the skin. The SJS rash starts in the mucous membranes, usually of the mouth and eyes, and may involve other mucous membranes in severe cases.

Then the skin lesions common to SJS develop. These lesions are often called "target lesions" because they have a bluish or purple center surrounded by a circle of red. These lesions start as reddened spots about 1 inch around and usually appear in clusters. Although the rash may start anywhere on the body, it typically involves the feet, hands, and the front of the legs and arms more frequently than the chest, abdomen, or back. The rash usually occurs on both sides of the body.

Within 1-2 days, the rash develops into the typical target lesion.

The centers of the lesions may become bluish or purple with a surrounding halo of redness. Blisters then form in the centers of the lesions and may itch or be painful. Target lesions usually appear in successive crops over the body and may run together, forming one large lesion.

[Rae1889]

its not any worse this morning. still red and still burning. like seriously burning. I seem to have a lot more side effects on brand name lamictal, than on generic. I have no clue why, as i have googled and googled and found no similar reaction.

I even tried googling if burnign skin is a side effect, but it seems everything is a side effect. its hard to tell what is me, what is a seizure, what is a side effect, what is a whole other illness from each other option. I'm so confused, but I think I may pop in tonight and see what they say. I dont know what med I want to try though. *grumble*

[Molly97]

im getting tired of the gluten free diet. its hard to avoid the things that I loved. Especially when my friends go out for food. if its not sushi, i never know what to order. I dont know which things will have gluten in them. there is only one expensive italian restaurant in my city that will change a dish into gluten free. and its only because the owner is gluten intolerant.

I just want to eat a big bowl of mediteranian pasta, with regular spaghetti, not gluten free. wah!

Rae,
Are you on a gluten-free diet because you have celiac or are you trying to do the GARD? If it's the GARD, be aware that it's really about decreasing the glutamate in your diet, not just decreasing the gluten. I've been on the GARD for almost two years and I'll occasionally have a sandwich, pasta. I am more sensitive to glutamate than I am to strictly gluten. And I do agree with you; the gluten-free stuff tastes awful.

[Rae1889]

lol yes it tastes terrible, but what else can i do? Im not celiac, but just trying to do gluten free for better seizure control. it seems to have worked along side my meds, definitely has given me more energy. I started it just before christmas, so i've kept to it pretty well. I staryed a few times, but I just crave the things I used to eat. chips and pasta and the likes. granted I can make some good gluten free food, but my knowledge and skill in that area is limited, so I have been eating the same few things for a while.

[Molly97]

Rae,
I noticed that you don't belong to the GARD member group. I've put up some links in that group concerning things like allowed/ not allowed food lists, some links to specific parts of Dogtor J's site, Bob's Red Mill products and recipes. I'd direct over that way.

Actually, for me, cutting out the gluten grains themselves was a fairly easy task. I've never been a big bread eater, pasta or the like. Chips I still have trouble with; I do like those pesky things. Mexican food is a major problem for me since I'm not supposed to be eating corn or dairy, definitely two biggies in that cuisine.

[Inaara]

Mexican food is a major problem for me since I'm not supposed to be eating corn or dairy, definitely two biggies in that cuisine.

Dear God, I live in Texas and have a half-Mexican sister-in-law. Not eating Mexican is likely to get me seriously hurt!

I haven't had too much trouble adjusting to the taste of the gluten free pastas, but I am reasonably ok at covering things like that with sauces and the like, so maybe that is it? *shrug*

[Molly97]

I haven't had too much trouble adjusting to the taste of the gluten free pastas, but I am reasonably ok at covering things like that with sauces and the like, so maybe that is it? *shrug*

I think that many shortcomings from a culinary standpoint can be covered up by a sauce or gravy.

[Inaara]

I think that many shortcomings from a culinary standpoint can be covered up by a sauce or gravy.

Haha!!! There are few grave errors one can make with a pasta that cannot be covered by a good, freshly made-from-scratch marinara sauce!

Incidentally...back on topic (more or less): there are some gluten free flours and meals out there. If one is so inclined and has the time (yes, I really love to cook), they could make their own pasta. It's not terribly difficult to do and would probably taste a lot better than the pre-manufactured boxed stuff. I know the regular homemade pasta tastes much better than the boxed stuff!

[Molly97]

Haha!!! There are few grave errors one can make with a pasta that cannot be covered by a good, freshly made-from-scratch marinara sauce!

Incidentally...back on topic (more or less): there are some gluten free flours and meals out there. If one is so inclined and has the time (yes, I really love to cook), they could make their own pasta. It's not terribly difficult to do and would probably taste a lot better than the pre-manufactured boxed stuff. I know the regular homemade pasta tastes much better than the boxed stuff!

True. Many, many years ago, hubby got me a pasta machine. Still have it, still works. Bob's Red Mill and Hodgeson Mill both make affordable gluten-free flours.

[Inaara]

Good to know. I will be checking to see if Sprout's carries either this week then (I tink I have seen the Bob's Red milll there before, but I don't rememeber for sure). If not, I know they carry about a half dozen others and have been expanding their gluten free section every week so yay!

[Rae1889]

Okay, so no tonic clonics since the 7th. which is wonderful. Had a complex partial at about 2ish this morning. Then felt super annoyed that I had to get my butt out of bed when it didnt even feel like I slept. although Chad said that I was out like a light right afterwards. I hate that feeling. plus my day started off without my bus showing up. I dont understand how that happens. maybe it gets eaten by a worm hole or something. argh

So I am excited for next weekend (the 26-28th) because there is something called a relic run. its where people take out their old old snowmobiles and go on a scenic ride with alot of others. I am nervous though, because of Scott. So I think that if he stays home, then I will too. at least keep him company. and also if I do have a complex partial or something, i'm not going to be doing it in front of 50 people and/or fall off the sled while i'm trying to hold on.

I bit my lip real good yesterday. again. I was talking and chewing gum, and then I chomped my lip. I basically pierced my lip with my teeth. It was gross. And you know how you immediately reach up and cover your mouth, and then everyone says "oh its not that bad" or "your should be used to biting your tongue" well everyone started saying that until someone asked to see, and I took my hand away and it was full of blood. I probably could have used a stitch or two but I didnt go. 1) because that would have been insanely embarrasing to tell the ER doctor that its cuz I bit my lip while chewing gum. and 2) because Its your mouth. it will heal on its own.

So lesson for today boys and girls. Chew gum and talking = owie